Emily

Emily Provincial Park is a 113-hectare recreational-class provincial park on the Pigeon River near Omemee, in south-central Ontario's Kawartha Lakes. ^[1] It lies on the east shore of the river in the former Township of Emily, now part of the City of Kawartha Lakes, about 22 km northwest of Peterborough and roughly 130 km northeast of Toronto. ^{[2] [3]} Land for the park was transferred to the Crown in 1956 and declared a provincial park in 1957. ^[2] The Pigeon River leads to the Trent–Severn Waterway, the canal system linking Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay, so the park works as a base for boating and paddling as well as camping. ^[4] With 303 campsites, a river beach and a marsh boardwalk, it is primarily a camping and day-use park. ^{[1] [5]}

The management plan places the park's shoreline marshes, the waters of the Pigeon River and its wet woodlands in Natural Environment zones, describing them as biologically interesting areas although not significant ones. ^[1] District fish and wildlife staff monitor an osprey nesting platform in the park, and wood duck nesting boxes have been installed for waterfowl. ^[1] The cattail marsh crossed by the Marsh Boardwalk Trail is a place to watch for frogs, turtles, red-winged blackbirds, American bitterns and ducks. ^[2] Ontario Parks notes that many frogs and birds use the wetland along the river. ^[3] In the river, anglers catch panfish from the park dock and larger walleye, muskellunge and largemouth and smallmouth bass from boats. ^[3] Waterfowl hunting is not allowed within the park, in part because the marsh is small and is used for interpretation along the boardwalk. ^[1]

Emily's vegetation follows its riverside setting, with shoreline marsh and wet woodland along the Pigeon River, while most of the land base is developed for camping and day use. ^[1] The Marsh Boardwalk Trail begins on a bark-chip path through mature white cedar with a dense canopy, then crosses a marsh of tall cattails and ferns. ^[2] A reconnaissance biological inventory documents the park's vegetation communities. ^[1] Because much of the land base is campground and day-use area, the management plan directs staff to phase out short-lived planted trees in favour of longer-lived species and to plant native species that attract wildlife. ^[1] The plan also covers aquatic weed control by mechanical and chemical means, and allows native and non-native insects and diseases to be controlled where needed while non-threatening populations develop naturally. ^[1]

Emily is in the Kawartha Lakes region, whose lakes lie on the boundary between the Paleozoic limestone of southern Ontario and the Precambrian granite of the Canadian Shield. ^[1] The Kawartha Lakes form the upper watershed of the Trent River, and the Pigeon River beside the park is part of that system. ^{[1] [2]} The park's management plan lists the Peterborough Drumlin Field among the topics for its guest-speaker programs. ^[3] Drumlins are elongated hills shaped like an inverted spoon, formed by glacial ice acting on unconsolidated till, and the area near Peterborough at the eastern end of the Oak Ridges Moraine holds large clusters of them. ^[4] The plan also provides for replenishing the beaches with sand as needed and for siting trees so that a lookout hill in the park keeps its view over the Pigeon River. ^[3]

The park has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), measured at the nearby Trent University station in Peterborough. ^[1] Under the 1991–2020 normals, July has a daily mean of 21.0°C, with average highs of 27.5°C and lows of 14.5°C, while January has a daily mean of −7.1°C, with highs of −2.3°C and lows of −12.0°C. ^[1] Annual precipitation averages 882.1 mm, and about 147.2 cm of snow falls in a typical year. ^[1] The campground and day-use season runs from spring to mid-autumn; in 2026 the park operated from May 8 to October 13, and Ontario Parks highlights fall camping and colours. ^[2] Outside the operating season, the management plan allows activities such as walking, cross-country skiing and tobogganing. ^[3]

The Kawartha Lakes area is the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig, and the City of Kawartha Lakes notes that the land has sustained Indigenous peoples for more than 10,000 years. ^[1] The name of nearby Omemee means pigeon in the Mississauga language, traditionally spelled omiimii. ^[2] In 1818 the Michi Saagiig and the government of Upper Canada made the Rice Lake Treaty (Treaty 20), which ceded 1,951,000 acres for settlement, and in 1923 the Williams Treaties were signed with seven First Nations including Curve Lake and Hiawatha. ^[1] The name Kawartha was coined in 1895 by Martha Whetung of Curve Lake First Nation. ^[3] Settlers built a community around William Cottingham's mills on the Pigeon River, renamed Omemee in 1857, the year the Port Hope, Lindsay and Beaverton Railway arrived. ^[2] An archaeological survey of the park was completed in 1977. ^[4]

Emily began when Emily Township transferred about 29 hectares at the north end of today's park to the Crown in 1956; the land was declared a provincial park in 1957. ^[1] About 40 more hectares were acquired in 1966. ^[1] The 1985 management plan described a 69-hectare land base and set out the government's intent to protect the park's natural features while providing high-quality outdoor recreation and heritage appreciation. ^[1] At that time the park had 299 campsites, 133 m of beach and 200 picnic tables, and the plan zoned most of the land for development while placing the marshes, river waters and wet woodlands in Natural Environment zones. ^[1] In July 2026 a 30-hectare (72-acre) addition was completed under a joint Ontario–Canada agreement, and Ontario Parks now lists the park at 113 hectares. ^{[2] [3]}

The Marsh Boardwalk Trail is the park's signature walk: a 1.0 km route that passes through white cedar and then onto a boardwalk across the cattail marsh. ^[1] The campground beach on the Pigeon River has a swimming area marked with buoys; there are no lifeguards, pets are not permitted there, and the day-use area serves as a dog-friendly beach. ^[2] Boaters can travel from the Pigeon River onto the Trent–Severn Waterway using the park's two boat launches. ^[2] The park rents canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards, and biking is also popular. ^[3] Fishing is a major draw, and a free Learn to Fish program teaches newcomers through instruction and supervised practice. ^[2] In July and August, park staff run Discovery programs, and activity books are available for self-guided exploration. ^[2]

Emily is at 797 Emily Park Road, Omemee, and Ontario Parks lists 303 campsites in total; its category counts include 300 car-camping sites, 170 electrical sites, 9 RV pull-through sites and 2 group sites. ^[1] Camping is spread across four campgrounds, Hilltop, Hill, Circle and Cedars; the first three have large grassy sites suitable for tents or large trailers, while Cedars is a tent-only area with non-electrical sites, and sites 1 to 36 there are radio-free. ^[2] The two group campsites take 20 to 50 people each and are for tents only. ^[2] Facilities include three comfort stations with showers, a laundromat, a playground, a trailer dump and fill station, nine docks and a park store. ^[1] The store sells live bait and tackle. ^[3] The 2026 operating season ran from May 8 to October 13. ^[1]

Emily's management plan commits to protecting the park's natural features alongside recreation, and its Natural Environment zones cover three biologically interesting areas: the shoreline marshes, the waters of the Pigeon River and the wet woodlands. ^[1] Wildlife management has focused on osprey nesting platforms and wood duck nesting boxes, and waterfowl hunting is excluded from the park. ^[1] The plan states that commercial fishing and bait fishing will not be allowed in the offshore waters once park management extends to them, while sport fishing is encouraged. ^[1] The July 2026 addition of 30 hectares protects more biologically significant shoreline marsh, wet woodland and parts of the Pigeon River along the Trent–Severn Waterway. ^[2] It completed a three-year, $10-million Ontario–Canada agreement that protected nearly 48,000 acres across the province, creating 12 new provincial parks and conservation reserves and expanding 50 others. ^[2]